by George Takei
All of us who were touched by Gene were there. But, again, where was Bill? We looked around. He was the only one who was not there. As always. But, he, too, was a part of that world that Gene envisioned—that world of infinite diversity in infinite combinations. A world of people with obvious talents and hidden flaws, people with surface defects possessing surprising gifts, people with different histories and different perspectives, all in our magnificent human diversity. Gene had brought us together in our own unique combination . . . Bill Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Jimmy Doohan, Walter Koenig, and me.
Me with my mother, Fumiko Emily Takei, and father, Takekuma Norman Takei. Between them is Toyosaku Komai, the publisher of Rafu Shimpo, the oldest English-Japanese daily newspaper in the United States.
My family before the war. Nancy is in my mother’s arms, Henry is on the left, and that’s me carrying a comic book.
The two internment camps that were our homes for the duration of World War II. Above, some of the “dangerous” internees changing classes at the camp in Rohwer, Arkansas. Below, the barracks during one of the cold winters at the camp in Tule Lake, located in northern California near the Oregon border.
My kindergarten photo taken at Rohwer.
My mother and us kids during our internment at Tule Lake. I’m on the far left.
Home again: Henry, Nancy, and me in front of the house our parents bought after the war.
My UCLA graduation photo.
My early acting career. Above, my role in an episode of Perry Mason called “The Case of the Blushing Pearl.”
One of my first films, Hell to Eternity. On the far left is Jeffrey Hunter, who would later play Captain Christopher Pike in the first STAR TREK pilot, “The Cage.”
I had a small role in the Alex Guinness, Rosalind Russell film A Majority of One. That’s Guinness on the right, whose odd makeup and very faulty accent resulted in a bizarre performance as a Japanese man.
I played alongside James Caan (center) in the Howard Hawks film Red Line 7000.
Me with Cary Grant, Jim Hutton, and Samantha Eggar in Walk, Don’t Run.
I confront John Wayne in The Green Berets. I had reservations about the politics of the film, but I found John Wayne to be larger than life.
My introduction to STAR TREK was my role as Astrophysicist Sulu in the show’s second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”
In my more familiar guise, as the helmsman of the U.S.S. Enterprise, Lt. Sulu.
Sulu faces off against Captain Kirk (William Shatner) in an early STAR TREK episode called “The Naked Time.”
Back in action: Sulu on the bridge in STAR TREK—THE MOTION PICTURE.
Sulu is tended by Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) in the often-overlooked “other death scene” in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.
A fully recovered Sulu at the helm later in STAR TREK II.
Above, Sulu goes up against a Starfleet Security officer, and (next) gets the better of the much larger man. Though I was initially opposed to this sequence, I liked it when I saw it on film.
My mother takes the first step on my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, just prior to the release of STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.
Sulu “borrows” a helicopter in STAR TREK IV.
A behind-the-scenes look at the lost scene from STAR TREK IV, when Sulu encounters his great-great-etc.-grandfather. Here I am trying to cajole the young actor playing my ancestor into performing the scene. Both Leonard Nimoy (seated) and I did our best to inspire him, but the young man clammed up. As the day progressed, we lost the daylight and the scene.
Talking to director William Shatner on the set of STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER. Despite our sometimes strained personal history, I found working with Bill as a director to be surprisingly pleasant.
At last! In STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, Sulu gets his first command, the U.S.S. Excelsior. The actual promotion scene was filmed for STAR TREK II, but cut from the final film.
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Copyright © 1994 by George Takei
All STAR TREK photographs © 1994 by Paramount Pictures
All STAR TREK elements ™, ®, & © 1994 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. STAR TREK is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures. Used under authorization.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 94-67660
ISBN: 0-671-89009-3
ISBN: 978-0-7434-3420-1 (eBook)
First Pocket Books trade paperback printing December 1995
POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.
Photo insert credits:
Image 1: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 2: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 3: a gift of Dr. Toshio Yatsushiro and Lily Koyama, and the Japanese American National Museum; Image 4: from the collection of Yukio Nakamura and the Japanese American National Museum; Image 5: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 6: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 7: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 8: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 9: from CBS, Inc.; Image 10: from the Everett Collection; Image 11: from Culver Pictures Inc.; Image 12: from the Everett Collection; Image 13: from the Everett Collection; Image 14: from Culver Pictures Inc.; Image 15: Globe Photos; Image 16: courtesy of Stephen Edward Poe; Image 17: courtesy of Stephen Edward Poe; Image 18: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 19: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 20: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 21: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 22: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 23: courtesy of Fumiko Emily Takei; Image 24: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 25: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 26: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 27: courtesy of Paramount Pictures; Image 28: courtesy of Paramount Pictures